The Price of Friendship
by OraclesChild23
Summary: Sakura has been best friends with Sasuke and Naruto for 4 years, but when the boys hormones kick in and they find girlfriends of their own, the trio begin to drift apart. When Sasuke thinks he's found 'the one', he seeks out the help of his friends inorder to prevent his brother, Itachi, from sabotaging his relationship. Just how much is Sasuke's friendship really worth to her?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I dont own Naruto

Sakura had been friends with Naruto and Sasuke since childhood, ever since her family moved to Konoha district when she was 4 years old. The first time she'd met them was two days after the move, when her mother had taken her to the playground.

Naruto had been 3 and a half at the time, and she had watched a group of older kids push him off the swing set. Having been taught compassion at an early age, Sakura had rushed to help him up, at the same time a 4 year old Sasuke had rushed over from the slides to beat up the bullies.

Afterwards, Sakura's mother had taken her and the two bruised boys for ice cream before dropping them off at their respective homes.

And they've been best friends ever since.

Thirteen years later, Naruto announced that he was in love with Hinata and the two began dating. Not one to be outdone, Sasuke soon began dating Ino. And poor Sakura, feeling like a fifth wheel whenever they all hung out together, decided to distance herself from her friends.

Things seemed to be getting back to normal after Sasuke and Ino broke up, until Sasuke started dating TenTen. And after that failed relationship, came Temari, then Ami, and then Karin.

"Please tell me you're not still dating Karin?" Sakura asked of Sasuke, one summer's afternoon as they rocked gently on the swing set.

"Yeah, it's been almost a month, right? You two are getting pretty serious, huh?" Said Naruto making smoochy noises as he leaned closer to Sasuke.

"Idiot," muttered Sasuke, pushing him away. "What's wrong with Karin, anyway?"

"Um, let's see," said Sakura, putting a finger to her lip and pretending to think, "she hates me!"

"She doesn't hate you," replied Sasuke automatically.

Naruto burst out laughing at that. "Of course she hates Sakura-chan. She thinks Sakura-chan is in love with you!"

"WHAT!?" spat both Sasuke and Sakura, a million denials and insults coming to mind.

Naruto just raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm just stating the obvious. She doesn't like Sakura-chan hanging around her boyfriend so much, especially when you dont have a boyfriend of your own, Sakura-chan."

"That's ridiculous, if that were the case then how come Hinata doesn't feel the same, even though I hang out with you just as much as Sasuke?"

"W-W-Well a-a-actually, S-S-Sakura-san..." started a quiet voice from beside the swing set.

Sasuke and Sakura jumped at the voice, having forgotten that she was there completely.

"Oh, come on! Not you too," begged Sakura.

Hinata simply nodded her head and blushed as she looked at the floor.

"We're getting off-top here. The reason I called you here today is because I... IthinkIreallylikeKarinandI'mseriousabouther."

. . .

...

. . .

"What? No, come on Sasuke, dont walk away, I seriously couldn't hear what you just said!"

"Stop being so emo, tell us properly!" Added Naruto.

"I SAID I LOVE KARIN! Maybe. I think," said Sasuke, deflating as he sat back on the swing.

"Wow," yelled Naruto, patting Sasuke on the back and sending him swinging forward.

"Watch it, idiot! Anyway, I didn't call you here for that exactly. I-I... Need... Your... Help," he eventually says.

"Really?" Asked Sakura. "But you never ask for help. Ever!"

"Clearly that's not true because I just did. Now will you two - sorry, three - agree to help me or not?"

"Ofcourse we'll help you! You're our friend, we're not going to turn our b-"

"Wait wait wait. Hang on Naruto. This must be pretty big if Sasuke cant solve this problem on his own," said Sakura, not missing the way Sasuke shifts uncomfortably in his seat. "First tell us what's up."

Oh yeah! Good idea, Sakura-chan - you cant trick us, Sasuke-teme!"

"You guys are the worst," said Sasuke with a groan.

Nonetheless, he proceeded to tell them about his brother, Itachi, and how he's managed to scare off everyone of his girlfriends' so far-

"Wait, what about Ino, she wouldn't scare that easily!"

"-He cut her hair in her sleep," Sasuke deadpanned.

"Huh," said Sakura, an evil gleam in her eye, "That pig told me she cut it because it was time for a change, and that I should do the same!"

"W-what a-a-bout Tenten? She's d-d-dating my cousin n-n-now and she seems t-t-tough," said Hinata.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Added Naruto. "She used to beat up on me all the time when you two dated!"

"-Green hair dye. The day she went to the salon to fix it, she met your cousin, Neji."

"Your emo brother has a hair fetish or something," says Naruto, scratching his cheek. Just then, his eyes light up, as though just figuring out something complicated. "Oh! So Itachi was the one responsible for Karin's terrible red hair colour!"

"What? No! That's her natural hair and I like it that colour! Anyways, that's not the point!" Shouts Sasuke, his cheeks aflame.

"Ok, then what has he done to Karin?" Asks Sakura, hoping that he says something really aweful.

"Nothing, he doesn't know about Karin yet. Which is why I need your help. Things are getting serious with Karin and I cant risk him being an ass and scaring her off."

"But we've met Itachi before, and he seemed nice enough. Kind of dark, but decent enough. Why is he doing this?"

"I think he's bored."

...

. . .

...

"Your family is pretty messed up. Have you considered therapy?"

"That's not funny," pouted Sasuke, shooting Sakura an evil glare.

"S-S-So w-w-what do you w-w-want us to do?"

"He's been away for two months with his friends on some trip to Africa to feed starving children or something like that, but he's due to return tomorrow."

"Aaanndddd you want us to...?" Asked Sakura.

Sasuke turned to look at her, an evil gleam in his eye that sent a shiver down her spine.

"I want you to distract him."

O ... 0 ... O

Thank you for reading the first chapter of my new story! Please dont leave without reviewing! This story is going to be about 5-10 chapters long, updated probably twice a week.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I dont own Naruto

The thing about Sasuke and the gleam he sometimes got in his eye when discussing a plan was that it just looked forboding. Sakura and Naruto knew from experience; nothing good comes from that look.

Yet somehow, someway or another, they always seemed to get roped in on Sasuke's plans. He had a gift with schemes, and no matter how absurd they seemed, Naruto and Sakura always believed they could work.

Like the time Sasuke got a D in his report card and convinced his parents it was an administrative error. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke snuck into the school late at night, hacked into the school's mainframe, and changed the D into an A. They were only 13 at the time.

Here's where Sasuke's plan failed though; as they were leaving the office, Sasuke and Naruto got into a fight, nothing unusual for the boys. Except that this time their fighting caused them to knock over the school's trophy cabinet.

Shattered glass bits flew everywhere. Naruto got the worst of it when the cabinet fell on top of him. He still has a scar on his arm from the incident. Sakura managed to tie up his arm in time to stop most of the bleeding and Sasuke helped by mopping up the blood. They did accomplish their goal of altering the school records though, and no one suspected them of breaking the cabinet.

But, as mentioned earlier, nothing good can come of Sasuke's plans.

Which is why, when Sasuke asked them to 'distract' Itachi, his friends cautiously agreed to help, but only on the condition that he did a favour for each of them in return.

"Thih ish reedicuris!" Sasuke muttered around a mouthful of ramen noodles.

"Sh-sh-shush! I-I-It's rude to t-talk with your mouth f-f-full like that," said Hinata sternly, as she placed another bowl of ramen in front of Sasuke.

Hinata knew that Naruto's favourite dish was ramen and so she decided to try and make it for him. Only, she wasn't that good of a cook, and she would never feed Naruto anything that tasted bad or caused his stomach to be upset.

Which is why she asked Sasuke to try out her cooking first.

"Definitely not this one," said Sasuke, pushing the bowl away and spitting into his napkin.

O ... 0 ... O

Sasuke paced in front of the swing set with both hands behind his back, looking like an army general adressing his troops.

"Do you morons realise that my brother is returning TODAY! I dont have time to try any more ra-"

"R-r-racy clothing!" Hinata concluded, actually jumping of the swing in her haste to make sure Sasuke doesn't tell Naruto the truth.

"Racy-" began Sakura.

"-Clothing?"

Sasuke and Hinata stared at each other, not at all sure of what to say. Fortunately, they were both spared by the appearance of Sasuke's older brother and cousin.

"Sasu-chan!" Yelled the older boy, running towards Sasuke with his arms outstretched.

Sasuke managed to extend an arm and press his palm into the boy's forehead, effectively preventing the hug.

"Shisui, Itachi," said Sasuke with a nod. "What are you two doing here?"

"Aww, Sasu-chan, aren't you glad to see us, give your cousin a hug," said Shisui struggling to break free of Sasuke's hand.

"Stop calling me Sasu-chan!"

"Mother said to fetch you for dinner," said Itachi, ignoring Shisui and Sasuke's antics. He spent a moment observing Sasuke's friends, pausing when his eyes landed on Hinata and Sakura.

"Of course, your friends are more than welcome to join us for dinner," he said with a very Sasuke-esque gleam in his eye.

Sakura shivered in dread, finally understanding where Sasuke got that look from.

O ... 0 ... O

"So, your brilliant plan is to get a fake girlfriend and let Itachi mess with her?" Asked Naruto a moment after Itachi left and Sasuke explained his plan to them.

"Well, no. That's where you guys come in. Your job will be to prevent Itachi from getting to the decoy, while at the same time exposing what he does to my parents. Got it?"

"I dont see why you need a fake girlfriend, anyway. Surely this plan would work with Karin as well," said Sakura.

"Karin cant find out that my brother's a psychopath! Out of the question. Whoever we get to be the decoy needs to be in on the plan from the beginning."

"Well," said Sakura, "Ino, TenTen, Ami and Temari are out because although they know about your brother, I doubt they'll want anything more to do with him-"

"A-a-and most of them have knew boyfriends n-n-now," said Hinata, thinking of TenTen and her cousin Neji in particular.

"I dont think there's a girl out there crazy enough to take on Itachi once we explain things to them," said Naruto.

Sasuke just sighed dejectedly.

"What about me?" Asked Sakura slowly.

"What about you?"

"What about me as the decoy. It's perfect. I know your brother, I wont be intimidated by him... It's perfect!"

...

. . .

...

Sasuke and Naruto burst out laughing.

"You? No way. Itachi would never believe you're dating Sasuke. You're too... Too..."

"Too what?" Asked Sakura, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

"Y-y-you dont seem like the t-t-type to fall for S-S-Sasuke's bad-boy routine," said Hinata, trying to help Naruto out.

"Yeah! You're too innocent," said Naruto.

"You've never had a boyfriend," stated Sasuke. "So you dont know how to act like a girlfriend in front of my brother. And besides, he'll know we're up to something."

"Oh really," Sakura said rolling her eyes. "And why's that?"

"You're not my type."

"What is your type then? Boobs and legs with a side helping of brainlessness?"

Sakura just sighed, realising that the boys were too thickheaded to see that she had changed and filled-out over the last few years. They still viewed her as just another buddy, not as the young lady that she was.

O ... 0 ... O

Sakura felt nervous as she fiddled with the hemline of her skirt and checked her reflection in the window before ringing the doorbell.

She had decided that the only way to convince the boys that she had grown up, was to dress and act the way other girls her age did.

Ino had helped her pick out a dress from her wardrobe, since she didn't own any. They had straightened Sakura's hair, pinned it, opened it, and then finally decided on loose curls for this evening.

Sakura drew the line at make up, opting for a light pink lip gloss instead of the garish eye make up and rouge Ino possessed.

The dress she wore was simple enough - knee-length with a subtle flare from her waist down. But she had refused to leave Ino's apartment without leggings underneath.

"Sakura?"

Sakura looked up to see that it was Itachi that opened the door, and judging by the way his eyes kept roving up and down her body, he at least noticed her make over.

"Come inside," he said, sounding like the cat that ate the mouse, and letting her pass him in the hall.

When he let his hand brush against her back, gently pushing her forward and leaving his hand there a moment longer than was required. Sakura felt a spark of electricity go through her body, and a tiny gasp escaped her.

"Sakura-chan, you look lovely," said Mikoto, rushing up to give Sakura a big hug. "Sasuke and the others are in his room, dear."

When Sakura arrived in Sasuke's room, the first thing she noticed was that it was just Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata there. Since Sasuke could find no one suitable to play the decoy, they decided to use Hinata instead.

"I still dont like this," Naruto pouted.

"I-i-it's ok, Naruto-kun," said Hinata, patting his hand in assurance. "It's just pretend, and besides, I already asked Sasuke to do a favour for me, so I owe him."

Sakura thought it was cute the way Hinata didn't stutter as much when speaking to Naruto.

"You look different," said Sasuke, looking at Sakura for the first time since she entered his room.

"Yeah," added Naruto. "Did you actually have a bath before coming here? Your skin looks... cleaner."

Sasuke nodded. "And you smell different. You smell like a girl."

"You guys really are the worst." Sakura laughed and shook her head.

Itachi chose that moment to stick his head into the room. "Mother says to come downstairs now. Dinners almost ready."

O ... 0 ... O

Naruto, Shisui and Sasuke were in charge of carrying the dishes from the kitchen, while Itachi, Hinata and Sakura set the silverware.

"So, Itachi, how was Africa?" Asked Sakura, trying to show Hinata that Itachi was not the monster Sasuke made him out to be.

Ever since Sasuke casually mentioned that they were going out when she arrived, she's been terrified of getting too close to Itachi.

"I doubt he carries a pair of scissors in his trousers, ready to cut off girls' hair at any given moment, Hinata," whispered Sakura when Itachi was out of earshot.

"Hot. We had to do a lot of manual labour. But the work was rewarding," said Itachi. "How are your studies going?"

"Um, not too bad, I guess I'm coping," Sakura said shrugging.

"Let me know if you need help, I still have my study notes from when I was in high school, and it would be no problem for me to tutor you, if you wish."

Behind Itachi, Sakura could see that Hinata had an indecypherable expression on her face.

"Ok, I'll think about it," Sakura said to Itachi, a small smile playing on her lips.

O ... 0 ... O

Dinner proceeded smoothly, and eventually Hinata began to relax and join in the conversations. Sakura sat next to Naruto and Shisui, so it was to be expected that laughter was bound to follow.

Even Itachi seemed more relaxed around his family.

O ... 0 ... O

The next morning, Hinata called for an emergancy meeting.

"Why would you call it an emergancy meeting," said Sasuke, still groggy with sleep, "if there was NO EMERGANCY?"

"Dont shout at my girlfriend, Teme!"

"Dont call her your girlfriend so loudly, you moron! Itachi still believes she's MY girlfriend!"

"B-Both of you, sh-sh-shut up! L-listen to me, I-I think Itachi l-likes Sakura-san!"

...

. . .

...

"What? No he doesn't," said the trio in unison.

"Itachi is evil, I dont think he has feelings other than evil," said Naruto.

"Sakura's not my brother's type," said Sasuke dissmissively.

"Not this again!" shouted Sakura. "Ok, then what's your brother's type?"

"Tall, beautiful, mysterious, kind, intelligent." He listed off on his fingers.

"W-well Sakura-san was wearing h-heels. She d-d-did look beautiful. She w-was a mystery to him b-because he'd n-never seen her dress or act that way b-b-before. Sakura-san is naturally a very kind p-person. A-and we all know Sakura-san is v-very intelligent."

That was perhaps the most Hinata had ever said in one go.

"That doesn't mean he likes her," said Sasuke, crossing his arms like a petulant child.

"He offered to t-t-tutor her, e-e-engaged in conversation with her. And he kept p-purposely brushing his fingers against her when p-passing the spoons."

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I think he tried to brush his foot against hers under the table at dinner, and accidently hit mine instead!"

Everyone just paused as they let the facts sink in. Itachi liked Sakura. Itachi liked Sakura. Itachi liked-

"Alright then, new plan," said Sasuke. "Sakura will seduce Itachi."

"Wait, what? Seduce? No way. No freakin' way Sasuke," said Sakura.

"Aw come on, you know what the teme meant Sakura-chan. Just smile at him alot and hold his hand."

"-A-a-And laugh at all his jokes."

"You know what? This may actually work," said Sasuke thinking out loud. "If Itachi has a girlfriend, he wont be so obsessed with mine. If all goes well, I can introduce Karin to my family by the end of the week!"

"Go back to the part about girlfriend, I dont think I heard you right."

"Then it's decided," said Sasuke. "Tomorrow, when Itachi finishes his training at the gym, Sakura will pounce."

O ... 0 ... O

Thank you for reading this but remember to please review before leaving the page.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favourited/alerted the previous chapter.

I have also written a Yu-Gi-Oh! Fanfic for the pairing Kisara/Seto so check that out!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer : I dont own Naruto

Sakura Haruno had never been in a relationship, that much was true. Quite frankly, she had never even bothered to observe 'couple behaviour' because she'd assumed it would come naturally when she herself was in a relationship.

Natural, however, seemed to go out the window with what remained of her dignity, when Sasuke asked her to seduce his older brother. Whom she had never considered as anything other than Sasuke's Older Brother.

So, that afternoon, after speaking to Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata, Sakura decided to visit the library and do some research on the matter.

At around 10pm, Sakura left the library with arms laden with book titles such as 'The Gentleman's Guide to Courting Maidens', 'Keys to a Successful

Relationship and How to Keep Your Girlfriend Happy', and, just out of curiosity, 'Icha Icha Volume 1'.

The library didn't have any books on how girls should seduce guys, but she figured she could make use of these books by just changing 'girlfriend' to 'boyfriend' in her mind.

The stack of books were so high she could barely see what was in front of her. The librarian had offerred to get a trolley cart for her, but Sakura politely declined, not wanting to trouble the elderly lady.

Having only just managed to pull open the front door of the library, Sakura did not expect to bump into anyone, let alone Itachi.

The books she carried fell in a heap on the ground between them, and she would have surely follow, if not for Itachi grabbing her upper arms at the last second to steady her.

"Sakura. What are you doing out so late at night?"

"Itachi-san! Sorry about that!" Exclaimed Sakura, bending down and gathering her belongings. "I was at the library and lost track of the time."

"It's not a problem," said Itachi, leaning down to help her. His face took on an expression of bemusement as he read the title of the book closest to him before handing it to her.

Sakura's cheeks turned crimson, as she realised what he read; 'Keys to a Sucessful Relationship and How to Keep Your Girlfriend Happy'.

"Err, it's for Sasuke, um no, not for Sasuke. Because Sasuke's has a girlfriend, Hinata. And they are very happy," she said, knowing how dumb she must sound to him, but unable to stop talking. "It's for Naruto. Yeah, he asked me to stop by at the library and get him that. He's lonely, he need's a girlfriend. Well, gotta go, bye."

O ... 0 ... O

Sakura wasn't sure why, but in the end she decided that it would be best not to tell Sasuke about the encounter at the library.

She spent the night reading as much as she could from all the books, until eventually falling asleep at her desk.

"Sakura-chan! Why is this room so dark, do you know what time it is?!" Asked Sakura's mother, as she barged into the room and drew back the curtains.

Sakura just groaned and tried to turn over in her sleep, and fell off her chair.

"Ow!" She yelled as one of the books from her desk fell on top of her head. "Why did you wake me up so early anyway? School doesn't open for another two weeks!"

"That doesn't mean you get to sleep in until 11am! And besides, your friends are waiting for you downstairs. I have to get to work now, but if you go anywhere dont forget to lock the door and leave the key with the neighbors."

Sakura rushed through her morning rituals of brushing her teeth and taking a shower, before heading downstairs.

"Oh, it's just you losers, my mom told me I had friends waiting here," said Sakura as she she pushed Naruto's leg off the table.

"You're a regular comedian," said Sasuke in his usual monotonous voice. "Now, if we're done here, let's commence the plan."

"You really aren't a morning person, Sasuke-teme," said Naruto.

"Oh, like his disposition is sooo much better in the afternoon," snickered Sakura.

O ... 0 ... O

"Just go! Nothing will happen to you!"

"Oh, really, then why dont you do it, Sasuke?!" Asked Sakura in an angry whisper.

"You want me to go on a date with my own brother?" Asked Sasuke raising an eyebrow suggestively.

"You know what I mean-"

"Gee, Sakura, I didn't know you were such huge perv! Were you a Uchiha-cest-fangirl this whole time?!" Teased Naruto.

"Would you guys shut up, already!" Sakura said blushing furiously.

"Th-there's I-Itachi-san. G-Good luck, Sakura-san," stuttered Hinata.

Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke peeked their heads out of the bush at the same time, only to crouch down again when they noticed Shisui, who was walking with Itachi, start to turn his head in their general direction.

"You think he saw us?" Asked Sakura.

"Yep, he surely did. What are you kids up to anyway?" Asked Shisui, leaning over them with a mischievious expression on his face.

"Shisui, what are you doing, now?" They heard Itachi ask in an exasperated tone.

Shisui gave them each a long meaningful look that said 'You owe me', before replying.

"Nothing, Ita-chan! Come on, let's go to the gym," said Shisui, in a sing-song voice.

O ... 0 ... O

"Great and now we owe Shisui a favour for not telling Itachi we were spying on him. This plan just keeps getting better and better," muttered Sakura as soon as they left.

"I dont see why you're complaining. I'm the one that has to do favours for you, Naruto and Shisui," said Sasuke.

"Well this IS your fault!" Exclaimed Sakura.

"G-Guys, we sh-sh-shouldn't be fighting like th-this," Hinata said, worriedly looking between Sasuke and Sakura.

"You're right, I guess I got a bit carried away just now, didn't I," said Sakura.

Sasuke just nodded his head once and grunted, but in all honesty, no one expected him to apologize.

O ... 0 ... O

. . .

...

. . .

"Sakura?"

"Yes, Itachi?"

"What is this?"

Sakura's gaze shifted from Itachi, to the flowers in her hand, wondering if he might be allergic to white daisies and then dismissing the thought. Sasuke had told her that Itachi had no allergies.

They had waited until Itachi exited the gym alone to send Sakura to talk to him, and she had waited until they went into hiding to reveal her secret weapon.

"These are flowers I picked. For you, of course," said Sakura with a small awkward laugh.

. . .

...

. . .

...

. . .

"No, thank you," he said, patting the top of her head before walking away.

Sakura stood frozen for a few moments after he left, not fully comprehending what just occurred. 'The Gentleman's Guide to Courting Maidens' said that this was the perfect way of letting your feelings be made clear. Perhaps that book was outdated.

"What was THAT?!" Asked Sasuke, standing up from behind the trash cans by the gyms entrance.

"You gave him FLOWERS! You gave a guy flowers! You gave THE UCHIHA PRODIGY FLOWERS!" Naruto laughed, tears trickling their way down his face.

Even Hinata couldn't keep her lips from twitching at the corners as she tried to smother her laughter.

"Shut up! I know what I'm doing, ok? This is all part of my strategy," said Sakura, her face flaming red from embarassment.

O ... 0 ... O

Actually, Sakura had no idea what she was doing. It had dawned on her that the books she borrowed from the library would not be useful to her in her endeavor. So, she turned to her closest female friend for advice.

"You gave Itachi Uchiha flowers after reading a book about how to get a maiden!" Ino choked out between peals of laughter. "Itachi, a maiden! Oh my gosh Sakura, you kill me!"

Sakura had never planned to reveal any of this information to Ino, but when it came to gossip, Ino could smell a story from a mile away. She was relentless once she caught the scent of humiliation.

Sakura needed her help though, and so she decided to tell the truth.

"Fine, Pig. Laugh at me! Whatever, now are you going to help me or not?"

"Of course I'll help you," said Ino, a wicked gleam in her eye.

Sakura just sighed. "Let me guess, for a price right?"

O ... 0 ... O

The next day, Sakura was awake before her mother. Eager to put her plan in action, she rushed through her morning routine, using the strawberry scented shower scrub Ino had given her.

"Sakura, what's gotten into you?" Asked her mother as she walked in the room to find Sakura actually ironing her clothes.

"I found this dress hidden at the back of my closet, it was all wrinkled up so I thought I should iron it before trying it on," said Sakura, not bothering to look into her mother's suspicious eyes.

Mrs Haruno's gaze shifted from the red dress, to the iron in her daughter's hand, to her immaculately straightened hair.

"Is this about a boy?" She asked excitedly.

"Kind of," Sakura nodded, not wanting her mother to know what she was planning. "It's complicated."

O ... 0 ... O

Itachi had only just returned to Konoha after his trip to Africa, and according to Sasuke, he wasn't due to go back to work on the police force until the end of the month. So, Sakura knew that he would still be at home now.

"Morning Sakura-chan," said Sasuke and Itachi's mother once she opened the door. "You're looking lovely today. Come in."

"Thanks Mikoto-san. Is Sasuke up yet?"

"No, I dont think so, he hasn't come downstairs yet. Should I get him?"

"NO! Um, no it's perfectly alright. I'm in no hurry. Can I wait-"

"Sakura?"

'Perfect' thought Sakura, turning around to find Itachi watching her curiously. Her eyes almost popped out of her skull when she noticed he was wearing dark jeans and no shirt, his hands busy towel-drying his hair.

Make no mistake about it, Itachi was ripped. And as his arms were raised above his head, his muscles just seemed to flex that much more.

Sakura had seen Naruto and Sasuke in this state of undress (and worse) a few times, but they had never caused her mouth to go dry or her heart rate to increase the way Itachi currently was.

"-still asleep so she agreed to wait until he wakes up."

"That's no problem, Mother. Sasuke was up all night talking to his girlfriend," Itachi said, looking at Sakura as he said the word. Suddenly she wondered if he knew Sasuke was lying about Hinata being his girlfriend.

"I dont think we should disturb him," he continued. "Perhaps, instead, you wouldn't mind taking a walk with me. I'm sure he'll be up by the time we get back."

Sakura nodded shyly, or at least, appeared shy. On the inside, she was cheering her good fortune because at last, things were going according to plan.

Alone-time with Itachi, check.

"Wait here, I just need to change," said Itachi.

'Please dont,' Sakura thought with a blush.

O ... 0 ... O

"I see you've you've decided to resume your new look," said Itachi as soon as they were out of the house.

The last time they'd met was when Sakura bumped into him at the library, and at that time she'd been wearing her faded jeans and a t-shirt, not expecting to run into anyone there. Still, Sakura found it amazing that Itachi noticed what she was wearing.

"Yeah, I found this lying around and I thought I'd try it on, see if it still fits," Sakura said, playing with the hemline of the dress the way Ino had taught her. "What do you think, Itachi? Do you like it?"

"You should wear what feels comfortable," said Itachi, matter-of-factly.

A blunt comment like that would have surely put most girls off, but Sakura, who's had dealings with Naruto and Sasuke, did not take offence to that.

Speaking of Sasuke...

"You know who has great fashion sense? Hinata. Sasuke just adores her fashion sense. Then again, she's so pretty, she could pull anything off, dont you think?"

Needless to say, Sakura was not known for her tact.

Itachi paused in his gait, his expression shrouded as he tilted his head and looked at Sakura.

"You seem awfully fond of her, is there a particular reason for that? I dont mean to pry, but I happened to notice one of the books you borrowed from the library was a self-help manual on how to get a girlfr-"

"No, no, no! NO! I mean, there's nothing wrong with being a lesbian, but I'm definitely not one." By this point, Sakura's cheeks resembled the red tomatoes Sasuke seemed to love so much.

Itachi stared at her a moment longer, obviously trying to ascertain the truth. Eventually though, he nodded, having been satisfied by her answer.

"I believe you. As for your question; the truth is, I dont know what to make of her. The type of girls' my brother usually dates are-"

Sakura snorted at that. "Type? I'm sorry, but all your brother looks for in a girlfriend is superficial beauty. He can do way better."

Itachi couldn't help but laugh at that; a short, hearty sound that made Sakura want to hear it again and again. It was rare for Itachi to laugh in front of anyone, especially someone outside his immediate family. Sakura felt a warm tingle shoot through her stomach, knowing she was the one that made him laugh.

"Well, I cant deny that. Sasuke has always been rash, not taking the time to notice things until it's too late. Which leads me to wonder why he's dating someone as mild-mannered as Hinata Hyuuga. It doesn't fit, wouldn't you agree?" He asked, pinning Sakura with his steady gaze.

Sakura felt her palms start to sweat. 'he knows! Crap what if he cuts off Hinata's hair for lying to him! I'll have the Huuga's to deal with!' she thought. Swallowing her rising fears, she tried to regain the situation.

"Well, I can see why you'd think that, you barely know the girl. But once you get to know her, you'll see how perfect she is for Sasuke," she said.

"And how do you propose I do that?" He asked curiously.

"H-How about a d-d-double date? Sasuke and Hinata, and you and m-m-me," Sakura said, stuttering as badly as Hinata. She couldn't even make eye contact with him as she asked the question, choosing to stare fixedly at the fading Uchiha house behind him.

. . .

...

. . .

Minutes seemed to pass and Itachi still had yet to answer. Sakura wondered if perhaps everyone was wrong and Itachi didn't have any romantic feelings for her.

"Err, let's go back to the house," she said, doing a girly little giggle the way Ino taught her to.

"Is something wrong with your voice? W should get back to the house, it appears you're catching a cold," Itachi said, looking at her strangely.

Sakura's face exploded in colour. What was meant to sound like a giggle had sounded like someone clearing their throat to him! Her hitlist now included both Ino and Itachi.

"-We wouldn't want you to be sick for our date," continued Itachi.

Sakura's head turned so fast her neck kinked. "What?"

"Tomorrow, dinner, 6pm at the new sushi place downtown. Tell Sasuke," he said.

"Wait, you're not coming back to the house?" Sakura asked, feeling dazed.

Itachi shook his head. "No, I'm late. I was supposed to meet Shisui at his house 15 minutes ago," he said, already walking away.

Sakura stood frozen in place, watching him leave. So, he had plans but he'd ignored them in order to go on a walk with her instead. Maybe Itachi really did have romantic feelings for her, after all, he had agreed to go on a date with her. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

All she knew for sure was that pretending to like someone left her feeling like a terrible person.

O ... 0 ... O

The moment she entered the Uchiha house, she knew Naruto was there from how loudly he spoke. Which meant Sasuke was awake already.

Sakura ran up the stairs and barged into Sasuke's room without knocking, as was the trios tradition when parents weren't around.

"Sasuke, guess what. We have a date with Itachi tomorrow!"

Naruto was so surprised, he fell off the chair, but Sasuke just gazed at her waiting to hear the full explanation.

"Itachi, me, you and Hinata. Itachi said yes to a double date!" She said excitedly. She couldn't understand why the boys lacked her enthusiasm.

"Uh-uh. No way," said Naruto forming an X with his hands. "Hinata is MY girlfriend. She cant go on a date with Teme. Dates involve kissing and there's no way she's gonna kiss him!"

Naruto's words worried Sakura more than she let on. Dates involve kissing? She'd never been kissed before and she did not want her first kiss to be as part of a favour she owed Sasuke.

"Well... You could come with us but how would that look to Itachi," Sakura said, thinking out loud.

"Naruto can come," said Sasuke, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Karin's coming as well."

"Whatnow?!" shouted Sakura and Naruto in unison.

"She thinks I'm not spending enough time with her so last night we made plans to go to that very same sushi place tomorrow night."

O ... 0 ... O

Thank you for your amazing reviews! As you surely noticed, struggled alot with this chapter, it just wasn't working out. I knew what I wanted to happen in this chapter but my words just weren't flowing in the way I wanted.

Urgh, here's hoping to a better chapter 4.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I dont own Naruto

"Ok, Genius, what's the plan?" Asked Sakura of Sasuke the next day.

Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata had decided that a brainstorm session was in order, and so they went to the group's favourite hangout; the park.

"This plan has gotten out of hand. There's no way Karin and Itachi can be in the same space and not know something's up," said Naruto, voicing their main concern.

"W-w-what if they sit a-at different tables a-a-and Sasuke-san spends t-time with b-both groups seperately," offered Hinata.

"That only works in the movies," said Sasuke dismissively.

"Dont put my girlfriend down bastard!"

"I told you already moron, DONT CALL HER YOUR GIRLFRIEND IN PUBLIC!"

"AND I TOLD YOU, THE PLAN IS OFF!"

"Both of you, SHUT THE HELL UP," yelled Sakura, gesturing around them. "You're scaring the children!"

Indeed, the foursome were on the receiving end of many looks ranging from scared to scathing - the latter from most of the mothers'.

Naruto attempted a smile at the nearest child, but her mother quickly pulled her away and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like: "-should have a ban on overgrown retards."

"I think we should find a new hangout," said Naruto.

O ... 0 ... O

"There she is. Act like we dont hate her!"

"What?" Asked Sasuke, looking around the table at Sakura.

"Too late," whispered Sakura, as Karin reached their table. "Karin! Wow, so good to see you!" Sakura said in an extra sweet, obviously fake voice.

"Oh, you're here too," said Karin in a sour tone. "Sasu-chan! I missed you sooo much!"

Sasuke and Karin proceeded to kiss, while Sakura gagged in the background.

"Urgh, do you mind?" Karin finally asked of Sakura.

Sakura just rolled her eyes and pressed her palm to her cheek. She had promised Sasuke she'd behave, and for the sake of their friendship, she'd at least try to get along with Karin.

"What is she even doing here? I thought this was supposed to be a date!"

"Well..." started Sasuke, looking down in guilt.

"Oh good, the fun has already begun," laughed Naruto, looking between Sakura and Karin as he and Hinata joined them at the table.

"What's going on here? They're here too?" Asked/demanded Karin.

"Well..."

Sasuke was stumped. Even after all the time they spent discussing the situation, he had still not come up with a solution.

"We're here to support Sasuke and Hinata. They were in a play portraying lovers, and today they're going to meet some die-hard lunatic fan who cant differentiate between a play and real-life. So just for today, Hinata and Sasuke will pretend to be in a relationship. For the fan," said Sakura.

. . .

...

. . .

...

. . .

...

. . .

"Well, then why not tell the fan the truth?" Asked Karin eventually.

"Oh, we cant do that," said Sakura, staying perfectly calm, despite the glares Sasuke was shooting her way. "The guy's terribly ill. Completely mental, you see.

"He's like a time-bomb waiting to explode. Say the wrong thing, and KA-BOOM!"

"That's... A pretty accurate description of Itachi," whispered Naruto to Hinata.

"Sasuke never mentioned that he was an actor," said Karin, sounding deflated.

Everyone -including Sasuke- sighed in relief at Karin's stupidity. If her biggest problem was Sasuke not telling her he was in a movie -and fyi; he wasn't- then it meant she bought Sakura's ludicrous story, and half their battle was already won.

The other half of their problem, Sakura noticed, had just arrived.

Itachi strode into the restuarant dressed in a navy blazer and dark jeans, looking to all the world like the movie star his brother was pretending to be.

"Ah, uh, Itachi, this is Karin. Karin, Itachi," said Sakura, standing up and gesturing between the two.

"Nice. To. Meet. You. Itachi," said Karin, speaking very slowly.

Itachi, who had been just about to sit down, gazed curiously at Karin, but said nothing. Naruto, on the other hand, kept a hand to his mouth as he attempted to cover his laughter with coughing.

Feeling strangely self-conscious in Itachi's presence, Sakura finally sat down as well.

"I thought this was supposed to be a double-date," stated Itachi, looking pointedly at Naruto and Karin, who kept giving him pitying glances.

"Tr-tr-triple date?" Offered Hinata, surprising everyone by speaking for the first time all evening.

"May I take your order?" Asked the waiter. The man looked to be in his early twenties, and seemed to be directing his attention towards only Sakura and Hinata.

Immediately, Naruto placed a possessive arm around Hinata, which was then replaced by Sasuke's. Which was then removed when Hinata noticed the deathly vibes radiating off Karin.

Sakura hardly noticed any of this, because while all of that drama unfolded, Itachi had placed his hand over hers. When she looked at him, a question on her lips, she noticed that he wasn't even looking at her, but instead staring coldly at the waiter.

"You may. Two servings of miso soup and two green teas. Have you decided what you're going to order yet, Sasuke?"

Sasuke nodded and the others soon gave the waiter their order. With one last wink at Hinata, the waiter left.

"So, Hinata, when did you first meet Sasuke?" Asked Itachi, conversationally.

Hinata looked around in panic, her mind racing with images of Itachi cutting her hair, or worse, dying it!

"They met at a ramen stand many years ago. Sasuke ordered a bowl of miso pork ramen, but the owners had run out of naruto fish cakes for the ramen," began Naruto.

"N-Na, I mean, Sasuke-san, made such a f-fuss that h-he disturbed all the other p-patrons there. I looked up f-from my m-meal and s-saw the most h-handsome g-guy I'd e-ever seen-"

By this point, Hinata and Naruto were both red-faced, both remembering the first time they'd met. Sasuke just snorted and wondered what was wrong with Hinata and why she thought Naruto was 'the most handsome' guy she'd ever seen.

"That's when Hinata offered to share her naruto fish cakes with Sasuke-" continued Sakura.

"And even though he -I mean, I- was too stupid to realise it then; it was love at first sight from that day," finished Sasuke.

By the end of the story, Naruto, Sakura, Hinata and Sasuke all had varying degrees of the same reminiscent smile on their faces. Sasuke and Sakura had heard the story many times before, and although they always teased Naruto about annoying them with that story, in secret they had each wanted the same unquestionable love at first sight romance in their lives.

"What? Do I have something in my teeth?" Asked Sakura of Itachi once she realised he was staring at her. In her nervousness, she tried the giggle Ino had taught her. The same giggle that Itachi had mistaken for her clearing her throat.

Luckily though, Itachi said nothing. Once the food arrived, everything seemed to be going smoothly; Sasuke and Hinata pretended to be a couple, Naruto and Karin tolerated it, Sakura tolerated Karin, and Itachi suspected nothing.

O ... 0 ... O

"Looks like we pulled it off," said Sakura, later that night. Sakura, Naruto and Hinata had decided to meet at Sasuke's house, instead of at the park again, and now, the four were lounging on the floor of his bedroom, exhausted from their earlier performance.

"I agree. Thanks everyone, you really came through for me," said Sasuke.

"That reminds me," said Sakura shooting up from the floor. "You still owe Naruto and I favours!"

Naruto shot up as well, a finger pointed accusingly at Sasuke. "Hey yeah, that's right!"

Sasuke just rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Ok, fine. What do you want?"

"Hmmph, how rude. Well..." started Sakura, looking very dangerous with a smile on her face.

O ... 0 ... O

"Sasuke, mother says to come down..." Itachi paused mid-sentence as he stared at his brother in shock.

For Sakura's favour, she had asked Sasuke to dress in his mother's clothing - complete with heels, make-up and shaved legs. The idea stemmed from a few days ago when Hinata had lied about making Sasuke wear racy clothing, and although Sasuke initially protested, a deal was a deal, and he was determined to wear the outfit throughout dinner, in accordance with Sakura's request.

Minutes seemed to pass, and still, Itachi said nothing. At some point, Sasuke decided to just be himself despite what he wore and set his chin in that arrogant way of his. This, as you can imagine, caused Sakura and Naruto to burst out laughing.

Itachi then left the room without finishing his sentence.

O ... 0 ... O

"Sakura, may I have a word with you outside," said Itachi, after dinner was over.

Sakura nodded and the two left the house.

"Sakura, although eating at the sushi place has been enlightening regarding Hinata, I feel as though it hardly constituted as a date. Would you agree?"

"Um, yes," said Sakura, trying to act coy by playing with her hair. "Maybe we should go on another date. That would be fun, right?"

Itachi nodded his head.

"Ok, tomorrow then. I'll tell Hinata and Sasuke," said Sakura, wondering how on earth the group could manage another double date.

"No, I meant just you and me," said Itachi, looking at her with such intensity that she had to look away.

"Ok," she muttered. This time she didn't have to 'act' shy. Being near him like this made her feel exposed, vulnerable even. This was supposed to be a favour to Sasuke - she wasn't supposed to get emotionally attached.

"Sakura," said Itachi, lifting her chin until she looked at him.

Before she could reply, his lips were pressed to hers and she was experiencing her first kiss. It was amazing, sparks seemed to fly from every point their bodies touched, leaving her feeling warm and light-headed. And just when she thought she had figured out what she was supposed to do and began getting into it, he pulled away with one last chaste kiss to her forehead.

"Ok then. See you tomorrow," he said, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips as he guided her back to the house.

O ... 0 ... O

"So, what did he want?" Asked Sasuke the moment Sakura went back to his room.

"He asked me to go on a date tomorrow. Your plan is working," Sakura said attempting a smile. She had deliberately ommitted the part about them kissing, knowing it was too personal to share.

In her heart, Sakura was beginning to wonder why she was doing this. Itachi genuinely cared for her, that much was obvious. But what kind of a terrible person would exploit those feelings for their own gain? How far was she willing to take this charade?

"Just you and him? I dont think so," said Naruto, shaking his head. Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"What now?" Asked Sakura, not expecting this reaction from the boys.

"Sakura-chan, you're so naive. You know nothing about boys and their ulterior motives. They just want to get in your pants, Sakura-chan," said Naruto patronizingly.

Sakura lost her temper and punched the tops of both of their heads. "Idiots, isn't dating Itachi part of your brilliant plan."

"No, pretending to be interested in Itachi was part of the plan. Naruto is right, you're too naive to go on a date alone with Itachi. You dont even know what it's like to be in a relationship. What if you two kiss? Then what? Do you want your first kiss to be a lie?"

"A... A lie?" Sakura asked, not admitting that she had already kissed Itachi.

"Of course. Itachi likes you so he would try to kiss you on the date tomorrow. And you dont like him that way so you'd be lying. Do you want that? To have to live with knowing you kissed someone you didn't care about?" Asked Sasuke.

"What? Uh, well.." Sakura couldn't even think straight. If her friends knew that she and Itachi had kissed, what would they think of her?

"W-we should f-f-follow them on their d-d-date tomorrow," said Hinata.

The boys nodded their heads, determined to protect the virtue of Sakura.

But when she put her fingers to her lips, recalling the way Itachi kissed her earlier, Sakura wasn't so sure she wanted them to protect her virtue.

O ... 0 ... O

Thanks for reading and reviewing the previous chapter. Please dont leave this page without reviewing :)


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I dont own Naruto

The first time Sakura met Karin was at the park in junior high. Naruto and Sasuke had thrown water balloons on her, and as Sakura had helped them.

That's when Karin had turned to her and told her that she would never find a boyfriend if she continued to act like one of the boys. She went on to insult Sakura's style of dressing, Sakura's lack of curves, and her large forehead.

The boys laughed it off, saying that it didn't matter if Sakura never had a boyfriend because they'd always be her friends. But, that was the first time someone had put it to those words to Sakura, and she never forgot them.

Perhaps that's where her hatred for Karin began.

It only seemed to grow once Sasuke began dating Karin. Sure, Naruto had begun dating Hinata first, but Sakura approved of Hinata. She could tell that Naruto was in love, and if that meant she got to spend less time with one of her best friends, then she would gladly do it.

As for Karin? Well, Sakura didn't believe in the merits of her and Sasuke's relationship. When he was with Karin, he didn't want anything to do with his old friends. They hardly saw him, and when they did, he put on an air of being to mature to join in on their fun.

Sakura had grown so dependant on her two best friends, and when they started to drift apart, she was the one who was hit the hardest. And always, in the back of her mind, was Karin's tormenting words that she would never find a boyfriend...

But then Sasuke called for that meeting at the playground. He'd asked them for their help - something he rarely did. Of course he came up with one of his ridiculous schemes that made no sense.

And Sakura had embraced it. Because everything seemed to be getting back to normal. She had her friends again, and they were back to the way they were.

But nothing lasts forever, does it? Soon we all have to grow up.

O ... 0 ... O

"How much farther," groaned Sakura, on the verge of exhaustion.

"We're almost there," replied Itachi, turning to his companion. "I was under the impression that you enjoyed taking hikes along this area."

"Well yeah, I do, but..." Sakura looked pointedly at her stilettos, particularly at her swollen ankles.

"Then take your shoes off," said Itachi, walking ahead of her.

"T-take them off?" Sakura asked. She looked ahead to see that Itachi had sat down on one of the boulders and was removing his own shoes.

"Those shoes are completely impractical. If you're feeling self-conscious, I'll remove mine as well."

Sakura was stunned into silence, but joined him on the boulder and removed her shoes anyway. Ino had told her that heels were a must on any date, but she was starting to believe that none of those rules applied when it was a date with Itachi.

O ... 0 ... O

"Hiking?! What kind of a date is this anyway?" panted an out of breath Naruto.

"Stop. Talking. Walk. Faster," heaved out Sasuke.

Hinata and Naruto just nodded, not having the breath to speak, as they walked a few paces behind Itachi and Sakura, making sure not to be seen.

O ... 0 ... O

As soon as her shoes were off, Sakura began to enjoy herself. It was refreshing, feeling the cool grass beneath her feet, and she could tell that even Itachi was a little more relaxed without his shoes. Perhaps the reason he was so grumpy all the time was because he had to wear shoes in the city.

Sakura snorted at the thought of that, then immediately covered her mouth when she realised how unlady-like that was on a date.

"What's wrong?" Asked Itachi, looking at her curiously.

"Oh, uh, nothing," said Sakura, smiling awkwardly at him.

"It looks like we're almost there," said Itachi.

O ... 0 ... O

"Did you hear that? They're almost there! Walk. Faster!" Sasuke hissed out.

"Sh-shut up! We're walking as f-fast as we can!" Whispered Hinata harshly, the sweat plastering her hair to her face.

Sasuke's eyes were as wide as saucers. Who knew that quite little Hinata had a temper to rival Naruto's when push came to shove.

O ... 0 ... O

Sakura gazed in wonder at the surrounding landscape. Mist covered mountains and forests of the lushest green lay in the distance, and best of all, a breathtaking waterfall on a nearby cliff provided a subtle fresh rainwater smell.

"Sakura?" Asked Itachi, unsure of her reaction.

"It's amazing!" Exclaimed Sakura, turning around and hugging him.

"Glad you think so," said Itachi softly. "Now help me set up the picnic," he joked, rubbing the top of her head and messing up her hair.

O ... 0 ... O

"She looks like she's having fun. Maybe we should leave?" Asked Naruto confusedly.

"No, we cant leave now. They're all alone up here. My brother has her exactly where he wants her."

"M-maybe we should stay a bit longer," said Hinata, naively thinking that Sasuke meant Itachi would do something to Sakura's hair.

O ... 0 ... O

By the time they headed back, the sun was beginning to set. Sakura had learnt that Itachi loved sweets and nature, reading and occasionally watching comedies.

In short, she realised that Itachi and herself shared a lot more in common than just knowing Sasuke.

Her good mood seemed to change though, once they arrived at his house to find Karin talking to Mikoto.

"Isn't that Karin? What's she doing here?" Asked Itachi.

Sakura could not answer.

Mikoto was the first to notice the new arrivals. "Ah, Sakura-chan, where's Sasuke-chan?" She asked sounding troubled.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Asked Itachi, going to her side.

Mikoto attempted to smile. "This girl here-"

"Karin," injected the girl in question rudely.

"Yes, Karin. Well, she claims that she's been in a relationship with Sasuke-chan for the past few months," said Mikoto, looking at Sakura to either confirm or deny that statement.

Sakura swallowed nervously, her throat having closed up, she was unable to utter a word.

"Wait, what are you doing here? Aren't you that retarded fan from yesterday? Mrs Uchiha, would you like me to call the police?" Asked Karin.

"Retarded... What? This is my firstborn son. Sasuke's older brother!" Exclaimed Mikoto.

Just then, Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata came into the house, panting and rushing for something to drink in the fridge.

It was only when Karin cleared her throat loudly that the trio turned around and noticed the scene in front of them. And when they finally noticed the expression on Sakura's face, they knew what was going on.

"I can explain," said Sasuke, more as a knee-jerk-reaction than having an explanation ready.

"Ok, well, it's getting late. Hinata and I should get going now," laughed Naruto nervously, taking Hinata's hand and heading for the door.

"But... But isn't Hinata your girlfriend, Sasuke?" Asked Mikoto.

"Yes, she is. I mean no she isn't," said Sasuke once he noticed Karin's face.

"The truth. Now," said Itachi, looking between Sasuke and Hinata.

"Well, uh you see-"

"Sasuke and Hinata aren't dating. We made it up," said Sakura quietly.

"Sakura!" Shouted both Naruto and Sasuke at the same time.

Itachi stood protectively in front of Sakura, but she moved around him anyways, inorder to confront her friends.

"It's over guys. There's no way we can get out of this now."

Naruto eventually nodded his head. "It's true. We made it up. I'm actually the one that's dating Hinata. And Sasuke is dating Karin. And Sakura doesn't love Sasuke's brother."

. . .

...

. . .

"Hinata and Naruto are dating. Karin and Sasuke-chan are dating?" Repeated Mikoto, looking confused.

"Correction, we were dating," said Karin walking out of the house. Sasuke didn't care about the scene unfolding in his house, and instead ran out following Karin.

"So why lie?" Asked Mikoto.

"Mrs Uchiha, we-we're very sorry for lying. B-but Sasuke-san told us he c-couldn't tell you who he was really dating b-because Itachi-san always sabotaged his relationships."

Mikoto just nodded her head, knowing that this was probably true.

"And I'm sorry, Itachi," said Sakura, mustering her couraging and finally facing Itachi. "I dont love you. This was just part of the plan. We thought if you had a girlfriend of your own, then you wouldn't be interferring with Sasuke's."

Before waiting for a reply, Sakura ran out of the Uchiha household as well.

O ... 0 ... O

"-And then Mikoto said that she forgave us and we stayed for dinner!"

Naruto and Hinata had come over to Sakura's house the next morning to explain the situation.

"And Sasuke?" Asked Sakura.

"Who knows," shrugged Naruto. "He hasn't tried to call or make contact."

Sakura just sighed.

"S-Sakura-san, Itachi-san told us he'd like t-to speak to you soon."

Sakura didn't reply, and instead simply sighed again.

"Sakura-chan, do you actually care about the teme's brother?" Asked Naruto in surprise.

"No," said Sakura immediately. "No, I... I dont know."

"S-Sakura-san, can I ask you s-something? Y-yesterday on your d-d-date, h-how many times did you think of Sasuke-san?"

"What are you talking about, Hinata? I didn't think of him at all!"

"E-Exactly. It was s-supposed to be a favour for Sasuke-san. B-but you didn't think of h-him once. Y-you didn't resent him for a-asking this favour from you. Y-you enjoyed sp-spending time with It-Itachi-san."

Sakura shook her head vigorously, a denial on her lips. But then she paused and let what Hinata just said sink in. And realised that what she said was true.

"And another thing, how come, knowing what Itachi was capable of doing to your hair, you were never afraid to be around him?" Asked Naruto.

"Well, that's because, I knew... I knew Itachi would never hurt me," said Sakura slowly.

"Sakura-san, d-do you like Itachi-san?" Asked Hinata, repeating Naruto's earlier question.

"I-I dont know," said Sakura, furrowing her brows.

"You know, we make fun of Sasuke a lot for having a type, but at least he knows what he wants," said Naruto observantly.

O ... 0 ... O

Ok that was hard... As you can see the story is almost over! Adgfifjsnj,!...!?

Thank you for reading and reviewing the previous chapter. I loved reading about your funniest moments in the last chapter! This wasn't really funny but it was important to the story's plot so I had to (dont hate me) .

Another thing, I dont support Sasu/Karin :P never did. Lol

Please do not leave this page without reviewing.


	6. Chapter 6

Dsclaimer : I own Naruto :P

Sakura," said Itachi, lifting her chin until she looked at him. Before she could reply, his lips were pressed to hers and she was experiencing her first kiss. It was amazing, sparks seemed to fly from every point their bodies touched, leaving her feeling warm and light-headed.

"Urgh!"

Sakura threw her pillow across the room in frustration.

Naruto and Hinata had left a while ago, understanding that she needed time to figure things out on her own.

When that proved to be an impossible task, Sakura had chosen to go to sleep, hoping that the answer would come to her in the morning.

Except that she hardly got any sleep; her thoughts were plagued with memories of Itachi. Her first kiss, her first date. The time she gave him flowers.

And eventually she realised what Hinata and Naruto knew all along - she genuinely had feelings for Itachi.

And that's where the frustration kicked in; because by lying to him and going along with Sasuke's plan, she'd essentially ruined any chance they might have had as a couple.

Sakura groaned and pressed her face into the mattress as she remembered yesterday's confrontation.

"It's over guys. There's no way we can get out of this now."

Naruto eventually nodded his head. "It's true. We made it up. I'm actually the one that's dating Hinata. And Sasuke is dating Karin. And Sakura doesn't love Sasuke's brother."

"And I'm sorry, Itachi," said Sakura, mustering her couraging and finally facing Itachi. "I dont love you. This was just part of the plan. We thought if you had a girlfriend of your own, then you wouldn't be interferring with Sasuke's."

Itachi probably hated her for playing with his feelings like that.

O ... 0 ... O

"Sakura-chan! Wake up, why is this room so dark?!" Mrs Haruno came bursting into the room and headed straight for the curtains, almost tripping on the pillow that Sakura had thrown on the floor in the middle of the night.

"Mom!" Sakura shouted, rolling over in bed.

"It's almost midday. You cant sleep the day away," said Mrs Haruno dissimissively. "And besides, your friend is waiting downstairs."

O ... 0 ... O

"Hi there Sakura-ch..." Shisui's sing-song greeting died off once he got a good look at Sakura and the bags beneath her eyes.

"Oh, it's you. I thought... Nevermind. So what did you want, anyway?" Asked Sakura, sitting beside him.

"You're so mean," Shisui said, pouting childishly. "Cant I stop by just to chat."

"Nope," said Sakura, not even bothering to look at him. "I'm guessing you heard what happened yesterday."

Shisui sighed. "Oh, yeah. I heard. That was a really mean thing to do to him, you know?"

"I know," said Sakura, swallowing hard. "How did he react after we left?"

"You should speak to him yourself." Shisui shrugged, a sly grin forming on his face. "So, did you hear from Sasuke?"

"Sasuke? Um, no. Not since he took off after Karin. Why? Did he not come home yesterday?"

"No, he didn't," said Shisui, waving his hands around, "But I'm sure it's nothing serious. He's probably crashing at Naruto's place."

Sakura just nodded, knowing this was probably true seeing as the boys always did this without warning their parents first.

"So..." started Shisui. "Remember that time when I caught you stalking Itachi outside the gym?"

Sakura could only stare dumbstruck at Shisui's nerve. He wanted her to do a favour for him now?!

"Well, I need you to repay that favour now," he said with a mischievious grin. "Go talk to Itachi."

...

. . .

...

"What?" Sakura spluttered, not believing her ears. "You want me to-"

"Go talk to Itachi, yes. Anyone who chooses to get involved with Itachi after knowing about his hair fettish has to be either stupid or in love. And you're definitely not stupid."

O ... 0 ... O

Sakura knew that sooner or later she'd have to confront Itachi. She was just hoping for later.

Instead she decided to visit Naruto at his house.

When she arrived, the first thing she noticed was that Sasuke was there, his hair dyed an unnatural shade of red. He barely looked up from his spot at the kitchen table as she walked in.

"Itachi?" She asked.

"Shisui," replied Naruto as he walked in after her. His trademark unruly blonde hair dyed purple.

"I-It was p-part of the favour w-we owed him," said Hinata, who had until then, been facing the stove. When she turned around, Sakura noticed that although her hair remained undyed, she had permed it.

Trying her best not to laugh, Sakura tried to focus on something else. "Mmm, what's that smell?"

"Hinata's making ramen!" Exclaimed Naruto excitedly.

O ... 0 ... O

After lunch the four decided to stay at Naruto's, mainly because three of them did not want to be seen in public with their ridiculous hairstyles.

Instead, they switched on the tv and lounged about on the sofas.

"How come Shisui didn't make you do something outrageous to your hair?" Asked Naruto, shovelling his way through a fifth bowl of Hinata's ramen.

"Naruto, please chew first then speak! Anyways Shisui gave me an even more outrageous task - going to see Itachi."

Sasuke opened his mouth to object, but Hinata, noticing this, decided to intercept.

"S-so, Sasuke, did you talk to Karin after she left?"

Everyone paused and stared at Sasuke, suddenly wondering why he hadn't mentioned what happened after he chased after Karin until now.

"Nothing happened. We broke up," he said shrugging nonchalantly.

"You... You just broke up?" Sakura asked puzzled. "Didn't you explain that you were doing this for her sake?"

"Nope," said Sasuke, returning his attention to the television.

"I thought you loved her," said Sakura, speaking between clenched teeth.

Naruto and Hinata kept silent, knowing better than to get involved. The two shared a look and seemed to communicate with their eyes because in the next minute they were up and headed for the kitchen.

"I thought I loved her. But then how can you ever really know, right? Turns out she was playing me the whole time. It was only once she told me that, that I realised I wasn't in love. After all, wouldn't a person in love be feeling a lot more hurt and betrayed after that confession?"

Secretly, Sakura was glad things didn't work out with Karin. Maybe it was mean, but she really did hate the girl, and the feeling was mutual. Hopefully, next time Sasuke finds someone with a little more substance. But still...

"You dumbass!" Shouted Sakura punching his shoulder. "If you'd only realised that sooner, I could have avoided all of that with Itachi!"

O ... 0 ... O

Sasuke knew as well as Sakura that she was not genuinely upset. In fact, she was glad that Sasuke could spend more time with his friends now, as selfish as that might be.

And truth be told, she was actually grateful to him. Because without Sasuke's scheme, she never would have got to spend that time with Itachi, or realised her true feelings.

But that didn't mean she was about to thank Sasuke anytime soon.

As Sakura walked home, she passed the flower shop where Ino worked, and with sudden stroke of inspiration, she decided to buy a bunch of white daisies - to lighten the mood - for Itachi.

"White daisies seem to be really popular this week," muttered Ino's mother looking confused. Luckily Ino wasn't there to mock Sakura.

O ... 0 ... O

"Oh, Sakura-chan, hi. I'm sorry, both Sasuke and Itachi are out right now, but I'll tell them you stopped by," said Mrs Uchiha.

"Thank you. A-And also, I just want to ap-"

"No need, you explained your reasoning yesterday. What's done is done and of course I forgive you. You know you're like a daughter to me. My sons adore you. So how could I ever stay mad at you."

Sakura mumbled out her thanks before hugging Mrs Uchiha and heading home.

The last thing she expected when she arrived home was to see Itachi Uchiha sitting on her doorstep, intently studying a single white lily between his fingers.

O ... 0 ... O

Her first reaction was to walk away. She had just about turned around when she realised that this was her house, and that she had also wanted to talk to Itachi.

"Um, hi," she said hesitating before sitting next to him. Suddenly the declaration she'd been rehearsing all day seemed to escape her and she was left feeling more than a little awkward in Itachi's presence.

"Sakura," Itachi nodded, by way of greeting. "I've been looking for you. You rushed off before I could reply yesterday."

"Yeah, about that," Sakura said laughing weakly. "Listen, I'm sorry for what I-"

"Here," interrupted Itachi, handing her the white lily. She had no choice but to accept, as she waited for Itachi to continue.

"Sakura, before you say anything else, I just want you to know; I dont love you either."

"Wait, what?" Sakura asked, her eyebrows creasing in confusion.

Itachi took a moment to smoothen her brows before flicking her nose, a gentle, teasing smile playing on his lips.

"I said I dont love you either. How could I when we only spent this week together getting to know each other? I will admit to having been attracted to you for some time, though."

"Oh," was all Sakura could think to say. Well, that certainly made things awkward. She stared dejectedly at the flowers she had bought at Ino's shop before deciding to give them to him anyways.

"Here, I-I bought these for you," she said shyly. "Kind of as a joke, remember that time I got you those flowers..."

"Thank you, though I could hardly forget that particular incident" said Itachi with a completely straight face as he accepted the flowers. "Did you know that traditionally, white lilies symbolize purity, innocence and vulnerabilty?"

Sakura shook her head, surprised by how much he knew about the flower.

"I dont blame you; I didn't know myself until I found myself on the receiving end of them," he said, teasingly bumping his shoulder against hers, and causing Sakura to blush. "You might also be interested to know that the lily symbolizes the freedom to be ourselves, as well as allowing others to be as they are too."

He paused, studying Sakura's features before continuing. "Like I said, I dont love you either, but I do care about you. I dont blame you for wanting to help Sasuke out; that's just the type of person you are. It's one of the reasons I found myself attracted to you in the first place.

"I cant say that I was completely surprised by yesterdays events - one does tend to get suspicious when one's brother dresses in his mother's clothes in front of his friends and so-called 'girlfriend'. I'm guessing that was part of the deal the two of you made?

"The point is, I already had my suspicions, but I went along with it because it meant I got to spend time with you," said Itachi, focusing on Sakura's face.

"But there was always this part of me, a voice in the back of my head, always wondering; how much of the time we spent together was an act and how much was genuinely you."

Acting on impulse, Sakura wrapped her arms around him. With her head pressed into his chest, she whispered just loudly enough for him to hear.

"It was all me. I set out to manipulate you into developing feeling feelings for me, but instead I found myself falling for you."

O ... 0 ... O

*Two Days Later*

O ... 0 ... O

Sasuke might have never been in love with Karin, but that didn't mean Sakura could just ignore the fact that she had cheated on him. Seeing Karin flaunting the fact that she already had a replacement for Sasuke - barely two days after their break up - had sealed the deal for Sakura, and so, she had convinced Naruto and Hinata to help her sneak into Karin's apartment at night - with a pair of scissors no less.

"S-Sakura-chan, I d-dont think this is a good idea," muttered Hinata.

"Ow! That's my face!" Naruto loudly whispered.

"Quiet! I think I hear someone," whispered Sakura, crouching low on Naruto's straining shoulders as they waited outside Karin's window for the person to pass.

What they didn't expect to happen, was for that someone to open the window and heave Sakura into the room, catching Naruto off guard and sending him tumbling to the ground.

A moment of dreadful silence passed, no one daring to move, until they heard the sound of Karin's snoring. Everyone seemed to breath a collective sigh of relief at that.

"What are you trying to do? Wake her up?" Sakura could recognize that voice anywhere...

"Itachi?" She finally asked, looking up to see the smirking face of her boyfriend.

"I guess we had the same idea," he said, directing his gaze to the scissors in her hand.

The two shared an evil smile before being interrupted by Naruto's groan.

"Urgh, talk about matches made in hell. You two love-birds can take over from here; Hinata and I are going home."

"You know, Sasuke thinks you do this because you're bored, but I think secretly, you're looking out for him. The same way I'm doing," said Sakura, leaning in and embracing Itachi.

O ... 0 ... O

The End.

O ... 0 ... O

Finished.

O ... 0 ... O

Like, seriously, you can stop story alerting now. Reviews would still be appreciated though :P

O ... 0 ... O

Thank you to everyone who reviewed any/all chapter(s) of this story. Love you all! Didn't receive a single negative bit of feedback (yet) so I'm really happy.

Thank you for reading this last chapter - did it go the way you expected? :P

So, finally, please review.


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